Distracted & Unaware
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1580: It's been days since the kiss in the basement with Grace, and Nora can't help but think about it, even when she's with Francesca. - Sunshine Girls 2 series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 75th cycle. Now cycle 76!_

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**"Distracted & Unaware"  
Nora (AU Beth), Grace (OC), Emily (OC; Nellie V), Francesca (OC)  
Sunshine Girls 2 series  
_(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)_  
**

Never in a million years had Nora ever expected to find herself in this position. For all the feelings she held toward Grace, it had been long understood and much grieved over that nothing would ever come of those feelings. So the odds that she might find herself with a girlfriend, one she honestly and deeply cared for, and at that same moment have something happen between her and Grace…

She still didn't know what it had meant, not exactly, and she and Grace had not spoken much since that day in Emily's basement, much less figured anything out, really. All she had to go on was that kiss.

It had been on her mind though… More than she could admit. It had been days, and she could still feel it, with very little need to concentrate. She remembered the exact moment their lips had met, the jolt it had sent through her, and then the realization of what was happening. Some part of her should have been shouting that she wasn't supposed to do that, but if it did, then it was buried beneath the rush of her heart tripping over itself to beat faster. Then she'd kissed her, truly, properly… urgently. For a moment, their arms had come wrapped around one another, the better to feel the other nearer, and it only added to the frenzy. How long she had known the scent of her, and yet on that afternoon, with Grace so close she could feel her heart beating as well as her own, it was as though she'd caught it for the first time; it was absolute delight.

Then reality had come crashing back down, and they'd been forced to separate, to look into each other's eyes, for that split second. What Nora had seen in Grace's eyes might have been what she would have seen right back: confusion, surprise, concern… joy, excitement… Soon they'd both have to really think about what had happened and what it would mean, and they knew it would be unpleasant, so for one more moment, they were going to forget what would happen and instead remember what had happened.

It was only after she'd left Emily's aunt and uncle's house that Nora remembered, that she saw the face flash in her mind. _Francesca…_

She didn't want her girlfriend to sense anything might be off, but at the same time, it didn't feel right for anything to happen until she'd been able to figure some things out.

Whether to give her an out, or to make her feel as guilty as she should be feeling, Francesca had caught a nasty cold that kept her home for several days. Nora would go and see her after school was done every afternoon, bringing homework, news from McKinley, and whatever else a doting girlfriend might do. They couldn't kiss, not if Nora was to do her best not to get sick, too.

"Dora?" Francesca called, all clogged nose and distorted words. She hated talking that way to the point where she would send her texts, with the two of them sitting next to each other. Nora smiled weakly, finding her oddly adorable in the state she was in.

"Finished your soup?" she asked. She looked in the bowl and saw that the very little of what remained of the soup had had time to sort of congeal in place. How long had she been sitting there doing nothing? "Sorry," she sat up, taking the bowl and putting it aside.

It just wasn't going away, was it? No matter what she did, there was always something that would bring her back to that basement. What kind of horrible person was she, that she couldn't keep herself from doing that, with her sick girlfriend sitting next to her? _The kind of horrible person that kisses other people…_ She rubbed at her face, as though somehow it would keep her from thinking about the kiss again. All it did was make Francesca frown, confused.

"Long day," she excused herself, smiling weakly.

This wasn't right. Francesca didn't deserve this, none of them did. It wasn't supposed to happen, none of it. She wasn't supposed to be stuck between two girls, just when she thought she'd finally moved on from the first one, that wasn't how her life went! All this time, pining after Grace Mackenna, that red hair, that smile, the way her eyes could just stare right into your soul… She wore her name so well, Grace… She was that, more graceful than anyone had ever given her credit for, before they saw what she could do. She was one of the best friends a girl could ever ask for, and Nora knew, because they had been that, best friends, and the thought that they might not be in each other's lives…

She blinked, growing even more frustrated, now that she realized she was doing it again, falling into Grace mode. She didn't want to be that person, didn't want to be a cheater. She had wished to be with Grace for so long… and then Francesca had taken her by surprise, the biggest surprise of all that she could like her the way she did. Sometimes she thought she might end up loving her… But she couldn't have it both ways, and one day she would have to choose, one day, sooner rather than later. The more this dragged on, the more painful it would be, for all of them.

"Fran, I…" she started to say, then stopped. She didn't know… Oh, why didn't she know what to do? She had to, she needed to… But whenever she told herself she knew the way, she opened her eyes and there was the crossroad calling… If she told Francesca what happened, would she even get to say it all, or would the girl shut her down immediately? But if she didn't tell her, she might find out some other way and it would be worse.

Her phone gave a tone, and she saw Francesca had hers in hand and was nodding for her to look. _Something's on your mind?_ Nora let out a breath. She had no choice. For her conscience's sake, she had absolutely no choice.

"I… I kissed Grace."

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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